This is a United States national patent application filed under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7371 claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7365(b) to French National Patent Application Serial No. 0013549 filed Oct. 23, 2000, now French Patent No. 2815582 published Feb. 7, 2003.
The present invention concerns a roof which is retractable into the rear boot of a vehicle. The invention relates more precisely to a roof which is retractable into the rear boot of a vehicle, comprising a front roof element and a rear roof element, connected together by an intermediate element, these elements being able to move between a closed position in which these elements extend above the cabin of the vehicle and a position in which the elements are stored in the rear boot, control means making it possible to move the roof elements between the above two positions. The above retractable roof makes it possible to convert a vehicle of the coupe type with a rigid roof into a vehicle of the cabriolet type whose cabin is completely open.
In vehicles having a long roof length such as saloons or four-seater coupes, a problem is posed in storing these three elements inside the rear boot without excessively taking up the volume in the latter. The aim of the present invention is to propose a solution for resolving the above problem.
According to the invention, the retractable roof is characterised in that the said control means comprise:
first means for controlling and guiding the movement of the rear element to a stored position in which this element extends substantially horizontally at the upper part of the boot;
the said first means cooperating with second means for controlling the raising of the intermediate element with respect to the rear element and then the superimposing of this intermediate element above the rear element in the boot;
the said second means cooperating with third means for controlling the downward pivoting of the front element during its movement towards the boot, as far as a position in which this element extends substantially vertically at the front of the rear boot.
Because of these arrangements, there remains inside the boot, under the superimposed rear and intermediate elements, sufficient height above the floor of the boot, whilst the arrangement of the front element which is substantially vertical at the front of the boot makes it possible to obtain a sufficient boot length.
According to a preferred version of the invention, the said first means comprise a pivoting arm articulated on the chassis of the vehicle and at the front part of the rear element, the pivoting of this arm being controlled by a drive device and a fixed runner extending in the boot in which there is engaged a finger fixed to the rear part of the rear element. According to one advantageous version of the invention, the said second means comprise two levers articulated on the one hand on the front part of the rear element on axes situated in front of the axis of articulation of the said arm on the rear element and on the other hand on the intermediate element, the articulations of the said levers forming a deformable quadrilateral, one of the said levers being connected to the arm by a link connected to this lever and to this arm. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the said third means comprise a link connecting one of the said levers in an articulated fashion to an extension of the rear of the front element which is articulated on the front of the intermediate element. Other particularities and advantages of the invention will also emerge in the following description.